Food Waste Management

Effective food waste management can reduce carbon emissions, combat food insecurity, and save taxpayer money for local municipalities. County Executive George Latimer has made food waste management a priority for his administration, launching several innovative programs to help reduce what ends up in the waste-to-energy facility.

Food Recovery
Through the nonprofit Feeding Westchester, the County sponsors a food recovery program that annually saves millions of pounds of food to be redistributed to economically disadvantaged residents. In 2019, the program saved 10.2 million pounds for consumption across the County.

Composting at Home
Family composting is an integral part of Westchester County’s plan to reduce food waste and promote sustainable living. Over the last three years, Westchester has provided compost bins and rain barrels at a discounted cost to residents in partnership with the Greenburgh Nature Center.

Municipal Transportation and Disposal
Currently, 22 municipalities in Westchester County have a volunteer food scrap drop-off or curb-side collection program, many of which utilize the Department of Environmental Facilities Residential Food Scrap Transportation and Disposal (RFSTAD) Program which greatly lowers the cost for municipalities to maintain food scrap collection.

CompostED
CompostED will be a small-scale food scrap composting demonstration and education site in Valhalla NY. The site will open in April 2021 and provide educational opportunities for County residents, students, and municipal officials on the environmental benefits of composting, the process of composting, and explore the ability of local municipalities to incorporate food scraps into existing organic yard waste composting sites.